Centennial baseball shuts out Long Reach, closes in on county title | Howard County sports roundup

May 28—In a topsy-turvy Howard County baseball season filled with parity, Centennial continues to find ways to remain one of the lone models of consistency.

On the road Thursday against Long Reach on Senior Day for the Lightning, the Eagles (9-1) followed a familiar formula of aggressive pitching, clean defense and timely hitting on the way to securing an 8-0 victory. It's the sixth shutout win for Centennial in the last seven games and has the team one win away from locking up sole possession of its first county title since 2007.

"Everything starts with our pitchers attacking the zone, being efficient and not giving up a lot of walks. ... Then you throw in that we are playing lockdown defense behind them, and it's giving our offense opportunities to be successful," Centennial coach Denis Ahearn said. "And, compared to earlier in the season, we have really done a good job of growing and evolving in terms of our plate approaches. You put it all together, and that's how you are able to go on a little bit of a run like we have."

Senior Dylan Watson said that this season, following having last spring canceled, has been all about making up for lost time.

"That [county championship] is what we have our eyes on, and we want it bad," said Watson, who went 3-for-4 with a triple, two stolen bases and two runs. "We feel like it got robbed from us last year, so everything we have been doing has been about getting us to this point. Now we just have to keep this going."

Centennial's offense certainly did its part against a Long Reach (4-5) team that came into the game Thursday having won two in a row. The Eagles tallied 10 hits, and every player in the starting lineup reached base at least once.

But the real story was the team's dominance defensively, starting with the brother-to-brother battery combination of freshman starting pitcher Cadeyrn Ahearn and sophomore catcher Qwynn Ahearn.

Cadeyrn allowed just two singles and two walks in his six innings of work, striking out six batters. Qwynn called the pitches, and Cadeyrn executed.

"Caderyn is an absolute stud. He hits his spots, mixes pitches and is throwing to his brother, who is probably one of the best catchers in the entire county," Long Reach coach Brian Wyman said. "The way he was going, it was going to be a tall task. But this team for us has a lot of heart ... we have been scrappy and played some teams like Reservoir and Howard really well lately. But Centennial just has a hell of a ball club and they were ready today.

"It was Senior Day, so you obviously want to come out fired up and ready to roll ... it just didn't happen for us."

Centennial didn't make a single error in the field, and Denis Ahearn said that his team hasn't made an error in any of its six recent shutouts. Cadeyrn Ahearn, who gave way to Carter Watson in the seventh to complete the shutout, has yet to give up an earned run this spring.

Long Reach starting pitcher Tucker Freer (four strikeouts in four innings) looked strong in the first inning, striking out two and pitching around an error. But Centennial did its damage in the second inning by putting together five hits and a walk while batting through its lineup.

Jack Pistner had a big RBI triple, and Watson added an RBI hit of his own in that second frame.

"We have a lot of young guys that have been stepping up, which goes a long way when you combine that with our seniors who have been holding it down like they always do," Watson said. "You put the bat on the ball and put it in play, that's how good things happen."

The Eagles added two more runs in the fourth, with Pistner reaching on an error and later scoring and Watson singling and stealing a couple bases before scoring on another error.

Watson tripled to lead off the sixth inning and came in on a single by Caderyn Ahearn for Centennial's eighth and final run.

In addition to Watson, the Eagles also got multi-hit efforts from Chris Betler (3-for-5 with a run and an RBI) and Caderyn Ahearn (2-for-4).

Long Reach's two hits came off the bats of Chris Stanford (first inning) and Brandon Bartolotta (second).

Centennial, currently a game clear of second-place River Hill, closes the regular season at home against Howard next Tuesday. A win there will secure the county title.

"I love it for these seniors. I had a lot of them as a sophomores, and I was looking to this year back then because I knew that they were going to be elite ball players," Denis Ahearn said. "COVID took last year away from us and there are a lot of questions that go with that in terms of what guys are doing in the offseason? Are they growing their game? But I'm confident that our guys stayed active and did what they could do to make sure that when they came out this season they would be ready to go and hit on all cylinders.

"All the credit goes to them for doing the work ahead of time to get themselves in this position."

Centennial 8, Long Reach 0

... 123 456 7 R-H-E

C 050 201 0 8-10-0

LR 000 000 0 0-2-4

OTHER BASEBALL SCORES

Marriotts Ridge 6, Wilde Lake 2

The Mustangs (5-5) scored three times in the bottom of the second to grab a lead they never lost the rest of the way in the home win over the Wildecats (1-7).

Drew Leader (2-2, walk, run, RBI) and Chase Kamerman (2-3, run) led the Mustangs' offense with multiple hits. Zach Rotter also chipped in with a pair of RBI. Adam Macfarlane went the full seven innings on the mound, striking out five and allowing the two earned runs.

Wilde Lake got mutli-hit days and a run scored apiece from Sam Balthis and Matt Parker in the loss. Chris Varga drove in both runs.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

WL 010 100 0 2-7-2

MR 031 020 x 6-7-0

River Hill 5, Mt. Hebron 0

Henry Zatkowski (6 innings, 7 strikeouts) and Michael Flaim (one inning) combined to pitch a no-hitter for the Hawks (7-2) on the road against the Vikings (3-7).

At the plate, W. Kilcoyne (two hits) and R. Pickus (2 RBI) helped to pace the River Hill offense. The Hawks remain alive in the race for the county title, sitting one game behind Centennial in the loss column.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

RH 021 000 2 5-7-4

MH 000 000 0 0-0-3

Glenelg 12, Howard 6

Erasing an early four-run deficit, the Gladiators (7-3) scored six times in the third inning and never trailed again on the way to the road win over the Lions (5-4).

Pitcher Andrew Johnson (4.2 innings, 10 strikeouts, 5 runs and 2 earned) settled down after the rocky start to earn the win. Zach Lafountain (1 run on four hits with 2 strikeouts) also pitched well in 2.1 innings of relief.

Alfonse Dello Russo (3-5, double, 2 RBI), DJ Stolba (2-4, triple, double, 2 runs, 3 RBI), Todd Calhoun (2-4, triple, 2 runs) and Harrison Hobdy (1-2, 2 RBI, run) were the offensive leaders for Glenelg.

Howard's Jack Kearney (3 hits and 4 RBI) had a huge offensive game in the loss.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

G 006 210 3 12-12-0

Ho 400 011 0 6-10-3

Reservoir 9, Oakland Mills 0

The Gators (5-4) earned the shutout victory over the Scorpions (0-9), scoring three times in each of the first two innings to set the tone. Reservoir pitcher Ryan Knisley threw the complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts.

Quinn Dean, Ben Davis and Travis Thompson all had doubles as part of an 11-hit day overall for the Gators.

Senior Chance Meadows stood out in relief for Oakland Mills, coming on and striking out 10 in five innings.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

Re 331 011 0 9-11-3

OM 000 000 0 0-4-2

Atholton 3, Hammond 2

The Raiders (6-3) prevailed over the Golden Bears (4-6) for their third straight victory.

Branden Brown delivered a home run, with 2 RBI and a stolen base to lead the Atholton offense, while Scotty Vaszil picked up the win

Chase Johnson and Jacob Willis each had doubles for Hammond, while Cal Hewitt, Nick Wilk, Aiden Harris and Anthony Clime added hits.

SOFTBALL

Long Reach 10, Centennial 2

The Lightning (3-7) earned their second win of the week by beating the visiting Eagles (2-8), getting another standout pitching performance from the combination of Amelia Bross (two strikeouts, two hits allowed in four innings) and Haiden Saffer (0 runs, two hits allowed in three innings).

Offensive standouts for Long Reach were Sierra Sims (3-4, 3 RBI), Taylor Slovak (1-4, stolen base), Holly Ryan (one hit, 2 RBI) and Saffer (one hit, one RBI). Jules Dadurka added a stolen base and a SAC bunt that helped score the team's first run of the game.

Gussie Ruckdeshel had a double for Centennial, while Madison Ceglia, Kiran Vepa and Mackey Aro all added singles.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

C 010 100 0 2-4-2

LR 411 103 x 10-9-2

Mt. Hebron 8, River Hill 2

The sister combination of Erin Behel (4-4, triple, 2 runs, RBI) and Emma Behel (2-4 at the plate, 7 innings, 2 runs allowed in the circle) carried the Vikings (7-3) to the bounce-back win over the Hawks (6-4) after losing to Glenelg on Tuesday.

Jessica Iveljic (2-4, 2 RBI, run) and Emma Kim (2-4, RBI) added multi-hit days as well for Mt. Hebron.

The Hawks were led at the plate by Brooke Gettier (2-3, single, triple, HBP), Kathleeen Maiorana (2-4, double) and Ella Wood (2-3, 2 RBI).

.. 123 456 0 R-H-E

RH 000 101 0 2-7-1

MH 004 310 x 8-11-0

Marriotts Ridge 4, Wilde Lake 3

The Mustangs (7-2) held off a late-inning rally from the Wildecats (5-4) to win their third game in a row.

Sarah Fan (3-4, run, 3 stolen bases), Melina Parson (3-3, 2 RBI) and Bridget Farrell (2-4, RBI) led the Marriotts Ridge offense, which grabbed the lead early with two runs in the bottom of the first. Lauren Tolle (2 earned runs, 2 strikeouts) got the win at pitcher, holding Wilde Lake scoreless for the first five innings and then working around trouble in the final two frames.

The Wildecats were led at the plate by Justyce Richard (3-4, double, triple, 2 runs, RBI) and Veronica Goode (2-4, RBI). Goode also pitched the complete game and finished with four strikeouts.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

WL 000 001 2 3-8-1

MR 201 100 x 4-9-1

Hammond 11, Atholton 4

Jordan Rodriguez (nine strikeouts, five hits allowed in seven innings) led the way at pitcher and Abbie Weirich (3 hits, 3 RBI) and Natalie Wilder (2 hits) paced the offense for the Golden Bears (4-6) in the home win over the Raiders (0-10).

Kyra Holtje had a huge game in the loss for Atholton, smacking two homeruns and accounting for all 4 RBI. Fiona Wallace, Gianna DeSousa and Lydia Yerger each had big hits as well for the Raiders, while Morgan Ryan pitched a strong game with five strikeouts.

.. 123 456 7 R-H-E

A 200 020 0 4-5-2

Ha 130 025 0 11-11-1

Reservoir 21, Oakland Mills 0

The Gators (10-0) got multiple hits from Rhiannon Little, Courtney Johnson, Kayla Ecker, Kylee Gunkel and Maddy Davis as part of a 20-hit day against the Scorpions (0-9).

Johnson (3 innings, 1 hit, 4 strikeouts) and Alyssa Kelly (2 innings, 0 hits, 5 strikeouts) combined on a one-hitter at pitcher.

.. 123 45 R-H-E

OM 000 00 0-1-5

Re 850 35 21-20-1

Howard 16, Glenelg 2

In a battle between two teams riding six-game winning streaks, the Lions (7-2) prevailed over the Gladiators (7-3) to remain in second place in the county standings.

Samantha Hobert earned the win, pitching the first four innings and striking out three before giving way to Maddie Coleman (two strikeouts) for the fifth.

At the plate, Lindsey Smith (4-4, double, triple, 5 RBI, 2 runs), Hobert (3-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs), Maddie Coleman (double, 4 RBI) and Angie Tyler (2-3, home run) all had big games.

Sage Huber led Glenelg in the loss with three hits and one RBI.

.. 123 45 R-H-E

G 001 10 2-5-4

Ho 406 6x 16-14-1

GIRLS LACROSSE

Glenelg 18, Mt. Hebron 3

The Gladiators (5-0) stayed undefeated and completed the season sweep of the Vikings (3-3). There were 10 different players that scored goals for Glenelg, led by Maura Murphy (4 goals), Emma Kennedy (3 goals) and Lauren LaPointe (3 goals, 2 assists).

Goals: G — Maura Murphy 4, Emma Kennedy 3, Lauren LaPointe 3, Caitlyn Baehr 2, Carleigh Callahan 1, Molly Sloan 1, Juliana Ott 1, Isa Torres 1, Molly Metz 1, Sophie Cipolla 1; MH — Audrey Harrington 1, Haley Kampert 1, Ashley Unkenholz 1.

Assists: G — Sloan 3, LaPointe 2, Alex Krohn 1, Metz 1, Cipolla 1; MH — Michelle Pak 1.

Saves: G — Jocelyn Torres 7; MH — N/A.

Wilde Lake 13, Oakland Mills 8

Cassy Montgomery (5 goals, assist, 4 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers, 9 draw controls) continued her strong play to help the Wildecats (4-3) avenge a loss earlier this season against the Scorpions (5-3).

Lia Carlesi (4 goals, two assists, 3 ground balls, 2 draw controls) and Kayla Hunter (2 goals, 2 ground balls) had big games as well for Wilde Lake.

Kaity Browne led the way with four goals for Oakland Mills.

Goals: WL — Cassy Montgomery 5, Lia Carlesi 4, Kayla Hunter 2, Jenna Eylanbekov 1, Safaa Sattar 1; OM — Kaity Browne 4, Kylie Tracy 2, Ella Novak 2.

Assists: WL — Sandra Statchel 2, Carlesi 2, Montgomery 1, Lydia Cybyk 1, Josie Pittman 1.

Saves: WL — Erica Sweitzer 8; OM — N/A.

Halftime: 8-5 WL.

Long Reach 14, Hammond 10

The Lightning (1-7) earned their first victory of the season, avenging a one-goal defeat earlier this spring against the Golden Bears (1-5). Freshman midfielder Chiara Pompei had her best offensive performance of the season with six goals and two assists, while fellow freshman Samantha Babik also had a big game with three goals and an assist.

Hannah Haber led Hammond in the loss with five goals.

Goals: LR — Pompei 6, Babik 3, Vincent 2, Benefield 2, Ditter 1; Ha — Haber 5, Hughes 2, Williamson 2, Nguyen 1.

Assists: LR — Pompei 2, Babik 1, Burfeind 1, Howe 1; Ha — Williamson 1, Leah 1.

Saves: LR — Wehr 10; Ha — Addo 7.

Halftime: 7-3 LR.

BOYS LACROSSE

Howard 17, Reservoir 4

The Lions (2-4) snapped a four-game losing skid and in the process handed the Gators (4-1) their first loss of the season. Aiden Larsen (4 goals, 2 assists) and Max Bruno (3 goals, 2 assists) paced an offensive attack for Howard that five players score multiple goals.

Goals: Ho — Aiden Larsen 4, Max Bruno 3, Braden Zehring 3, Gavin Smith 2, Nathan Boone 2, Matt Baur 1, Owen Taylor 1, Ryan Rodgers 1; Re — Steven Musser 2, Sean Maruschak 1, Joey Schinner 1.

Assists: Ho — Larsen 2, Bruno 2, Smith 2, Boone 2, Baur 1; Re — Maruschak 1, Schinner 1.

Saves: Ho — Logan Boone 8; Re — Nick Hoover 7, Jason Ellinger 5.

Halftime: 13-2 Ho.

Glenelg 12, Mt. Hebron 9

The Gladiators (5-1) completed a regular-season sweep of the Vikings (3-3), as Colin Buch and Kevin Doughty put up five goals and an assist apiece to lead the way.

Goals: G — Colin Buch 5, Kevin Doughty 5, Evan Whatley 2; MH — Brendan Demek 6, Cam Stockenberg 2, Giani Kuram 1.

Assists: G — Evan Whatley 3, Kevin Doughty 1, Colin Buch 1, Rocco Buscher 1; MH — Cam Stockenberg 2, Brendan Demek 1.

Saves: G — Charlie Wendel 7, Stephen Desantis 7; MH — Everett Armstead 16.

BOYS TENNIS

Reservoir 5, Oakland Mills 0

No. 1 singles: Vikram Battalopalli, Re def. Luke Carlson, OM (8-5)

No. 2 singles: Edwin Brown, Re def. Noad Asres, OM (8-3)

No. 1 doubles: Yari Armond and Joshua Cai, Re def. Jaeden Henry and Joel Pazin, OM (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Jared Carino and Haider Hussain, Re def. Brayden Awukum and Matthew Premph, OM (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Harshil Shah and William Tao, Re def. Ethan Neylen and Allen Simon, OM (8-5)

Marriotts Ridge 5, Wilde Lake 0

No. 1 singles: Pedro Arantes Gabriel, MR def. Des Adeyemi, WL (8-1)

No. 2 singles: Rafa Feldman, MR def. Dan Asgedom, WL (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Shreyas Rath and Sai Charan Chodavarapu, MR def. Hughes Charles and Maddox Cieslok, WL (8-2)

No. 2 doubles: Revanth Bairi and Alex Wang, MR def. Matthew Batmunkh and Noah Begley, WL (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Hamin Kim and Arnav Srivastava, MR def. Jonathan Monah and Sovanmonireach Ek, WL (8-0)

Centennial 5, Long Reach 0

No. 1 singles: Keshav Ganapathy, C def. LR (8-3)

No. 2 singles: Centennial win by forfeit (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Tyler H. Lin and Julian Whang, C def. LR (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Michael He and Charlie Lu, C def. LR (8-4)

No. 3 doubles: Centennial win by forfeit (8-0)

Atholton 5, Hammond 0

No. 1 singles: Jason Lilly, A def. Austin Uwimana, Ha (8-1)

No. 2 singles: Alex Nguyen, A def. Colin Ward, Ha (8-1)

No. 1 doubles: Daniel Etcheberrigarary and Steven Tzeng, A def. Tyler Prudhomme and Hussain Masood, Ha (8-2)

No. 2 doubles: David Szympruch and Anthony Zhou, A def. Huy Tran and Sohan Modi, Ha (8-1)

No. 3 doubles: Gabe Schauf and Nico Taber, A def. Gabe Porter and Holden Rushing, Ha (8-4)

River Hill 5, Mt. Hebron 0

No. 1 singles: Alex Artazov, RH def. Guy Scafidi, MH (8-4)

No. 2 singles: Sebastian Lair, RH def. Jeff Li, MH (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Zach Lee and Ibrahim Khan, RH def. Andrew Lee and Ethan Doan, MH (8-3)

No. 2 doubles: Jai Khanna and Aaron Liebskind, RH def. Rithvik Srivasan and Mason Doan, MH (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Vraj Patel and Daniel Maiorana, RH def. Jack Lovas and Sumant Melta, MH (8-4)

Howard 5, Glenelg 0

No. 1 singles: Andrew Au, Ho def. Lukas Zukalskis, G (8-1)

No. 2 singles: Niko Bifsas, Ho def. Daniel Danko, G (8-6)

No. 1 doubles: Richie Pemberton and Alex Brousseau, Ho def. Caleb Taylor and Mitchell Steinberg, G (8-5)

No. 2 doubles: Savsas Bifsas and Tyson Nguyen, Ho def. Will Sloan and Grady Cronkite, G (8-3)

No. 3 doubles: Amrit Magesh and Tyler Nguyen, Ho def. Katen Gulati and Kushal Jatti, G (8-1)

GIRLS TENNIS

Reservoir 5, Oakland Mills 0

No. 1 singles: Alanna Ro, Re def. Gabriella Kerechanin, OM (8-4)

No. 2 singles: Nicole Carino, Re def. Annelise Cosmos, OM (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Kayla Ou and Alyssa Lee, Re def. Samantha Mosley and Erinn Kaiser, OM (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Grace Tao and Gia Santos, Re def. Margaret Kato and Estella Brummell, OM (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Kaitlyn Ro and Lexi Lee, Re (win by forfeit)

Marriotts Ridge 5, Wilde Lake 0

No. 1 singles: Anna Ottman, MR def. Sajana McLaughlin, WL (8-0)

No. 2 singles: Gabby Tseytlin, MR def. Kristina Staussi, WL (8-2)

No. 1 doubles: Charita Sandoze and Hashini Amarasinghe, MR def. Johanna Shin and Kate Kulesza, WL (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Srinidhi Arumugam and Megan Wagner, MR def. Sage Rivarde and Madison Hays, WL (8-2)

No. 3 doubles: Rishika Bandi and Anika Herath, MR def. Logan Bitner-Parish and Grace Spillane, WL (8-2)

Centennial 5, Long Reach 0

No. 1 singles: Shreya Vallimanalan, C def. LR (9-7)

No. 2 singles: Centennial win by forfeit (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Audrey Oaksmith and Michelle Fradlin, C def. LR (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Rachel Zhao and Sarika Kapadia, C def. LR (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Clara Pan and Sahara Kapadia, C def. LR (8-0)

Atholton 5, Hammond 0

No. 1 singles: Jessica Zhou, A def. Janel McCray, Ha (8-0)

No. 2 singles: Atholton win by forfeit (8-0)

No. 1 doubles: Lexi Nguyen and Niki Patel, A def. Ronia Agyeman and Megan Martin, Ha (8-0)

No. 2 doubles: Jen Chiang and Alisa Hira, A def. Mayuri Chakkara and Olvia Ametewee, Ha (8-1)

No. 3 doubles: Atholton win by forfeit (8-0)

River Hill 4, Mt. Hebron 1

No. 1 singles: Adelaide Houston, RH def. Bonnie Vess, MH (8-0)

No. 2 singles: Shrinidhi Abaddi, MH def. Defne Demirekler, RH (8-2)

No. 1 doubles: Ella Jiao and Priyanka Ramulu, RH def. Julia Kimack and Shivani Varia, MH (8-2)

No. 2 doubles: Riya Patel and Maria Malik, RH def. Harini Devireddy and Mira Tadimalla, MH (8-2)

No. 3 doubles: Rebecca Ni and Elinor Tu, RH def. Sophia Kreyling and Maggie Ballman, MH (8-2)

Howard 4, Glenelg 1

No. 1 singles: Ava Stamatakis, G def. Varsha Katheli, Ho (8-0)

No. 2 singles: Medha Hegde, Ho def. Elena Scourtis, G (8-1)

No. 1 doubles: Corinne Chau and Viola Yu, Ho def. Ally Abruscato and Arianna Moadeli, G (8-1)

No. 2 doubles: Presley Caroland and Marina Kim, Ho def. Kate Kim and Ashley Kim, G (8-0)

No. 3 doubles: Amelia Krieg and Shannon Clifford, Ho def. Rukmini Gaddam and Akshitaa Jay, G (8-1)

Don't see scores or stats from your favorite team? Send results and any game information to Brent Kennedy at bkennedy@baltsun.com and Jacob Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com.